Inspice's CHAInstant comes in six kinds. The only difference is what was added. All six share one trunk — the same twelve spices, the same tea leaves, the same red sugar — and onto that trunk we layer between one and four ingredients. Ingredients are added; nothing is ever subtracted. That is why, whichever one you drink, you meet the same face somewhere in the cup.
The six are built by layering, not by taking away
Start with the trunk. Common to all six CHAInstant chais are twelve spices — cassia, cardamom, makauy, clove, Aknavi fennel, ginger, tonka bean, star anise, Tellicherry black pepper, timur, nutmeg and coriander — together with Brooke Bond Taj Mahal tea leaves, red sugar, and a trace of rock salt.
The standard CHAInstant is that trunk itself. Nothing has been added. The other five are made by layering ingredients onto it. Because we never take anything out of the trunk, drinking the six side by side brings only the outline of the layered ingredient into view.
There is no cinnamon in our chai. Inspice uses cassia, and the ingredient list says so. The difference between the two barks is set out in a separate article.
Six faces, from cool to hot
Here are the six lined up left to right by the temperature of their aroma. Coolest first: MINT, Yomogi, then the trunk — the standard — in the middle, and towards the warm end Golden, CACAONIBS, HotBoost.
MINT — cool
Three ingredients layered on: yerba buena, peppermint and cinnamon basil. Two mints and cinnamon basil put a cool, clear aroma out in front, and the finish stays light. The air of an early-summer morning. This is the one best suited to a cup you let cool properly before adding ice.
Yomogi — green
One ingredient layered on: mugwort. BLUMOGI mugwort, grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilisers, mainly in the Yanbaru region of Okinawa. A clear green aroma rises and dissolves into the warmth of the spices. It is not a sharp drink. For an afternoon when you want to change gear.
CHAInstant — the trunk
Nothing added. The citrus of makauy, the sweet scent of tonka bean, the bark of cassia. This is the cup in which the twelve names are easiest to find. First thing in the morning. On a day you cannot decide.
Golden — warm
Three ingredients layered on — turmeric, vanilla bean and long pepper — plus more cardamom than the trunk carries. It turns golden the moment it dissolves into milk, but the turmeric is not there for colour: it is an axis of aroma and of warmth. The vanilla is whole fresh beans from Uganda. Not artificial sweetness, but the roundness of the ingredient itself. For a morning you want to begin gently, or for the end of the day.
CACAONIBS — deep
One ingredient layered on: roasted cacao nibs. Fine cacao aroma dissolving into the twelve — a grown-up cup. Faintly bitter, and with every sip a little closer to the world of chocolate. At night, in place of something sweet.
HotBoost — hot
Layered on: Espelette chilli from the French Basque Country, and a sharply pungent black pepper. More ginger and more nutmeg than the trunk carries, too. After you swallow, heat lights up from the core. For a cold day. For when you want to charge yourself back up.
Reading the trunk off the ingredient list
"The same trunk" is not just a phrase. An ingredient list runs in order of weight. Put the six packages side by side and you can see the trunk still standing in three places.
The first is the very beginning. In all six, the largest ingredient is red sugar. Red sugar carries not only sweetness but the foundation of a toasted, caramel aroma. However distinctive the layered ingredient, the floor of the cup is the same across all six.
The second is the pairs that sit side by side. In the standard — the trunk — cassia and tonka bean, nutmeg and coriander, black pepper and rock salt are each set at exactly the same weight as their partner. That is why cassia and tonka bean always appear next to each other on all six ingredient lists. A sweet bark and a sweet bean reminiscent of cherry leaves, holding up the trunk as a pair.
The third is makauy, down towards the end. It is a Taiwanese mountain pepper with a citrus aroma close to lemongrass. It sits near the end of the list, present in barely any quantity at all, and yet makauy alone carries that scent. Whichever of the six you drink, the same citrus stays in the finish — because this one ingredient remains in the trunk.
Looking for the twelve names inside one cup
The twelve in the trunk each stand in a different place. Cardamom is the single thread of coolness inside a hot cup. Ginger is the dry heat that stays after you swallow. Aknavi fennel and star anise are sweet in the same direction, the first lighter, the second sounding lower. Clove joins with the tea leaves — the one spice that makes chai smell like chai. Timur is a Nepalese pepper that sets down citrus and the faintest tingle.
An aroma you have named comes a little further forward in the next cup. Learn the twelve names in the standard, then move to the other five, and you will see exactly where the layered ingredient cuts in. This is where tasting them side by side gets interesting.
Why Inspice built the six this way
Not taking anything out of the trunk is not only for the sake of side-by-side tasting. In the workshop we weigh aroma with exacting precision, confirm it on the tongue, and back it up at the molecular level. Once the trunk is set, the layered ingredient is chosen to fit the trunk. As with the cardamom in Golden, or the ginger and nutmeg in HotBoost, we will increase an ingredient that is already in the trunk — but never reduce one. Leave the trunk uncut and both the maker and the drinker can see precisely what that one layered ingredient is doing.
All six can be made hot, or iced: let the cup cool properly, then add ice. That is the whole order of operations. Milk works, and so does soy milk. One pack makes a 220 ml cup.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What is the difference between the six CHAInstant chais?
A. Only the added ingredient. All six share a trunk of the same twelve spices, tea leaves, red sugar and rock salt. MINT layers on two mints and cinnamon basil; Yomogi, mugwort; Golden, turmeric, vanilla and long pepper; CACAONIBS, cacao nibs; HotBoost, Espelette chilli and black pepper. The standard is the trunk itself.
Q. Which should I choose first?
A. The standard. It lets you learn the aroma of the twelve in the trunk as it is, so when you move on to the other five the layered ingredient stands out clearly. If you like cool aromas, MINT next; if you like warm ones, Golden.
Q. Can I make iced chai, or use soy milk?
A. Yes. Make any of the six hot, let it cool properly, then add ice. Cool first, ice second — not ice first. Soy milk works in place of dairy milk.